Beverley Town Council are set to sell the St John Ambulance building.
Councillors on Beverley Town Council have resolved to sell the former St John Ambulance building purchased in 2022 for use as a future Town Hall, citing the rising interest rates, and the squeeze on local government finances reaffirmed in last week’s national Spending Review.
The building, acquired in September 2022 was intended to be refurbished as a civic headquarters. However, economic conditions have significantly deteriorated since the purchase beginning with the rise in inflation and borrowing costs.
Town councillor Denis Healy said: “Just weeks after the previous council administration completed the purchase, the national economy was thrown into chaos.”
“The sudden surge in interest rates made their original borrowing plans unviable almost overnight".
Cllr Healy also pointed to last week’s Spending Review seeing a continued squeeze on local authority finances, including frozen real-terms funding and tighter access to capital investment.
“We are facing intense financial pressure from both directions,” Cllr Healy continued. “The economic instability means Councils are being asked to do more with less, and we simply cannot afford to commit to further public borrowing in the current economic climate".
Despite the decision to sell the building, Cllr Healy was clear that the Town Councils aim in securing a Town Hall remains unchanged.
“This is not the end of our Town Hall ambition far from it,” Cllr Healy added. “Selling this building is a pragmatic step to protect our long-term vision. We will continue exploring options to secure a civic space that reflects Beverley’s identity and serves our community into the future. But we will always continue to put the interests of the Beverley tax payers first and not commit to unaffordable borrowing”
The building will be listed for sale in the coming weeks. Funds raised will be preserved for future investment when the right opportunity presents itself.